Estadio Azteca

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Estadio Azteca
"Coloso de Santa Ursula"

Full Name	Estadio Azteca
Location	Mexico, DF, Mexico
Built	1962
Opened	May 29th, 1966
Renovated	1986
Owner	Televisa
Surface	grass
Architect	Pedro Ramírez Vázquez Rafael Mijares Alcerra
Former names
Guillermo Cañedo
Tenants
América Atlante
Capacity
105,000
Dimensions
105 x 68 m

Aztec Stadium, safe stadium...kind stadium

Estadio Azteca is name for a football stadium in Mexico City. Designed by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and built in 1966 for football matches during the 1968 Summer Olympics, it has a capacity of 105,000 seats. It is alternatively known as Coloso de Santa Úrsula.

It is the home stadium of the Mexico national team and the Mexican clubs America and Atlante and the one-time home of Cruz Azul and Necaxa. It is the only stadium ever to host two World Cup final matches, in 1970 and 1986. It also hosted the 1986 quarter-final between Argentina and England in which Diego Maradona scored both the Hand of God goal and the Goal of the Century, in memory of which a bronze plaque of his goal was placed outside the stadium. In addition to those notable events, the stadium also hosted the Game of the Century, when Italy and Germany played in a memorable football match, won after extra time by Italy 4-3. To honor this match there is a monument in front of the stadium.

Estadio Azteca has been host to a wide variety of competitions. Throughout the stadium's history, it has hosted the following international sporting events:

The stadium has also hosted international club tournaments such at the Copa InterAmericana and the Copa Libertadores.

Estadio Azteca has also been used for musical performances throughout its history. Michael Jackson (1994), U2 (2006), Queen, Elton John, Robbie Williams (2005), Maná, Juan Gabriel, Gloria Estefan, Jaguares, Lenny Kravitz, Ana Gabriel, The Three Tenors all have become part of the stadium's mystique. But what perhaps is most remembered amongst the Mexican people is the visit from the late Pope John Paul II in 1999. The stadium has also been used for political events, such as Felipe Calderón's campaign closure in 2006.

1 Access and entrance
2 Naming
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links

[edit] Access and entrance

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It is served by the Azteca station on the Xochimilco Light Rail line. This line is an extension of the Mexico City metro system which begins at Tasqueña metro station.

Due to its size and the closure of the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Azteca is currently the planet's biggest football stadium (though behind May Day Stadium) tickets are usually readily available, up to kick-off times, from the ticket office which is located at the front of the stadium, just down the exit ramps from the Azteca station. Tickets start from as little as 50 pesos (5 U.S. Dollars as of 2007). For bigger matches such as America's games against Guadalajara and UNAM Pumas where sellouts are common, numerous touts circulate offering tickets at competitive prices. For such games, be careful to check that your tickets are within the same section of the ground.

[edit] Naming

The stadium is owned by Mexican TV consortium Televisa. In order to avoid people associating the stadium's name with that of its competition TV Azteca, Televisa officially changed the stadium's name to "Guillermo Cañedo", a top executive and long-time football advocate at Televisa. The change took place in early 1997, following Cañedo's death (January 20th, 1997)[1]. However the change did not go well with the general population, who generally refused to refer to the stadium by its alleged new name. Following a schism where two of Cañedo's sons, who worked at Televisa, switched camps and went to TV Azteca,[2] Televisa quietly returned the stadium's name to its old version. Some people did not even notice, as they usually referred to the stadium as "Azteca" during the name change.

Preceded by Wembley Stadium London	FIFA World Cup Final Venue 1970	Succeeded by Olympiastadion Munich
Preceded by Santiago Bernabéu Madrid	FIFA World Cup Final Venue 1986	Succeeded by Stadio Olimpico Rome

[edit] Trivia

At the time of its inauguration it was probably the most modern sports arena in the world. The opening game was between Club America and Torino F.C. on May 26, 1966, with seats for 107,494 spectators. The first goal was scored was by Brazilian Orlando Dos Santos Cruz and the second one by Brazilian José Alves "Zague", later the Italians tied the game and ended 2-2. Gustavo Diaz Ordaz President of Mexico made the initial kick and Sir Stanley Rous FIFA President was the witness.

A modern illumination system was inaugurated on June 5, 1966 with the first nightly game between Valencia C.F. and Necaxa. The first goal of the game was scored by Honduran José "La Coneja" Cardona. In this game Roberto "El Loco" Martinez o Caña Brava scored the first goal made by a Mexican. The final score was 3-1 in favor of Valencia C.F..